03-07-2021, 08:48 PM
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<p class="tornado_quote">Tornados from a butterfly's wing</p>
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Her heart swelled in her throat as the gathering grows, horses in their ones and twos standing in a crowd rife with electric Anticipation. It was a mixture of pride and anxiety that filled her now as she recognized more and more of the signatures as they arrived. Family, children, the ones that they had failed to protect from the long night. Her nose dropped to her daughter's neck when the girl pressed up to her, cursing herself for having woken her willful child.
There is no obvious reason for them to be here at first. No agonized creature lying weak here at the foot of the Mountain. Something had called them here, though, and she didn't need to wait very long before the summoner revealed itself.
It was as before, or close enough. She blinked, and their number was increased by the presence of unmistakable Fey. The source of the Despair, known at last. They were beautiful, as fairies are, but there was a raggedness to them that she couldn't help but note. It had been there before, when she and Yanhua had climbed the mountain, but not so pronounced. Not so desperate.
What followed was explanation, more than any of them had been able to collect on their own. She was grateful for the knowledge, even if that knowledge was less than ideal. Really, it was about as far from ideal as she could imagine, but it was theirs regardless. Something to hold onto, that they could use.
How they used it, however, seemed not to be up to them. The fairies had their own plans, as per usual, and she listened with the gradually increasing horror that comes with knowing too much about the situation you're really in. What it meant for all of them.
There was an awful, heart-rending moment when her daughter spoke, and Memorie next after. She hadn't had time, hadn't realized that the stupid, undeniable bravery of youth would drive her girls to volunteer themselves so readily. Before she had a chance to hurry them away to relative safety.
The "No," she wanted to scream died stillborn in her throat, drowned by other voices that declared which party they'd follow. Rescuer or Distraction, they'd called it; Saviors and sacrifices, she mutely renamed them. And the girls, her brave, beautiful girls, were trying to save the world. Moisture glossed her crystalline eyes. To give them a real shot at success was the best thing she could do.
Her lips pressed hard into her daughter's head, a kiss meant to be felt. Cheri had grown so much over the last year. And still she had so much growing left to do. "I love you so much, my Cheri. You've made me so proud. Take care of each other," the jewel-winged mother crooned softly. More firmly then, she raised her voice. "I will go with those distracting." She hoped and prayed to any god still willing to listen that she was making the right choice. Love, more than she could contain, spilled out from her as the meeting drew to its end.
<p class="tornado_name"> ...Amarine</p>
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<div class="tornado_gradient"></div>
<p class="tornado_quote">Tornados from a butterfly's wing</p>
<div class="tornado_message">
Her heart swelled in her throat as the gathering grows, horses in their ones and twos standing in a crowd rife with electric Anticipation. It was a mixture of pride and anxiety that filled her now as she recognized more and more of the signatures as they arrived. Family, children, the ones that they had failed to protect from the long night. Her nose dropped to her daughter's neck when the girl pressed up to her, cursing herself for having woken her willful child.
There is no obvious reason for them to be here at first. No agonized creature lying weak here at the foot of the Mountain. Something had called them here, though, and she didn't need to wait very long before the summoner revealed itself.
It was as before, or close enough. She blinked, and their number was increased by the presence of unmistakable Fey. The source of the Despair, known at last. They were beautiful, as fairies are, but there was a raggedness to them that she couldn't help but note. It had been there before, when she and Yanhua had climbed the mountain, but not so pronounced. Not so desperate.
What followed was explanation, more than any of them had been able to collect on their own. She was grateful for the knowledge, even if that knowledge was less than ideal. Really, it was about as far from ideal as she could imagine, but it was theirs regardless. Something to hold onto, that they could use.
How they used it, however, seemed not to be up to them. The fairies had their own plans, as per usual, and she listened with the gradually increasing horror that comes with knowing too much about the situation you're really in. What it meant for all of them.
There was an awful, heart-rending moment when her daughter spoke, and Memorie next after. She hadn't had time, hadn't realized that the stupid, undeniable bravery of youth would drive her girls to volunteer themselves so readily. Before she had a chance to hurry them away to relative safety.
The "No," she wanted to scream died stillborn in her throat, drowned by other voices that declared which party they'd follow. Rescuer or Distraction, they'd called it; Saviors and sacrifices, she mutely renamed them. And the girls, her brave, beautiful girls, were trying to save the world. Moisture glossed her crystalline eyes. To give them a real shot at success was the best thing she could do.
Her lips pressed hard into her daughter's head, a kiss meant to be felt. Cheri had grown so much over the last year. And still she had so much growing left to do. "I love you so much, my Cheri. You've made me so proud. Take care of each other," the jewel-winged mother crooned softly. More firmly then, she raised her voice. "I will go with those distracting." She hoped and prayed to any god still willing to listen that she was making the right choice. Love, more than she could contain, spilled out from her as the meeting drew to its end.
<p class="tornado_name"> ...Amarine</p>
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